How the Heart Heals
by ThatOneAwkwardGeekintheCorner
Summary: Tony deals with frustrating news, and tries to deal with life after the Expo. It isn't easy. A new enemy arrives, and she is ready to wreak havoc, will the family survive? Sequel to Proof Tony Has a Heart and What Happened to Tony's Heart. Rating will be subject to change. Pre-Avengers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Sorry for such the long wait everybody. I've been having personal issues. General unhappiness mostly. I've been trying to write, I know what I want to do with this, I am just having a hard time articulating this. Mostly I've just been typing, and then erasing everything. I can't decide on how exactly I want to do this so I might take a while between uploads, but I promise I'm working on it.**

**I know most of you must hate me for how I left things off, I understand, and I apologize. I won't keep you waiting, so, without further ado, here is How the Heart Heals. If you have not read Proof Tony Stark Has a Heart or What Happened to Tony's Heart, I suggest reading those first. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or any Marvel things. If it is Marvel, it isn't mine. **

**12:30**

"Pepper," Tony finally croaks, his throat sore from his sobbing. He never expected to be in this sort of position with Pepper. She hadn't been around when he lost his parents. This wasn't the same feeling of course, but it is a similar experience. He didn't have anyone to lean on then. It feels good to be able to rely on Pepper. "How can I ever get rid of this feeling?"

"You move on, eventually," Pepper says, her eyes are bright red, tears are streaking down her cheeks, but she looks strong. She doesn't look like she is going to break at any time soon. "It helps if you talk about it," She added, giving him a meaningful look.

Tony nods, wondering where to begin. He never expected a kid to affect his life so much. She's effecting it so much more now. How can someone who has only been in your life for a few months manage to change everything?

**Later, In a Different Location**

I'm not sure if it is the pain that woke me up, or if it was simply there when consciousness came. My eyes had opened before I realized I was awake. I lay in the destruction that I have inadvertently caused, trying to gain an understanding of what happened before I passed out. It hits me all at once. I feel the fear creeping in my throat, along with the sense of guilt. Shaking my stiff neck, I try to shake myself out of it. Get to somewhere safe first, and then you can beat yourself up over it. Blinking, I realize that I can see, but it is just too dark for me to see anything. My view is blocked by debris that had fallen on me, and even still I think it is night time. How long was I out? Every breath hurts. It seems my armor couldn't protect me from everything I had endured. I must have at least broken a rib or two, they hurt enough. Definitely don't have a collapsed lung, I would surely be able to tell that much. I tried to move my right arm so I could try shifting the metal sheet above me, but there is a grinding sensation in my shoulder, and pain shot down my entire arm. Gasping in pain, I decide not to try that again. I don't think I have ever woken up in so much pain before in my life. Instead of using my right, I tentatively lift my left arm, smiling when I realize that, although it hurts, it doesn't hurt so badly where I cannot move it at all. I must have broken something in my right arm. Some parts of my face are sticky with what I suspect is blood. Otherwise I feel pretty good **for** being buried in god knows how much debris.

Honestly I am lucky. If the metal had fallen any other way I could have been impaled, or worse. I used my left arm to push the thin sheet of metal off of me. Surprisingly it moves easily. There must be less damage than I thought. I coughed hard, dust flew from my mouth. I guess I inhaled a lot of it when I was out. I am nervous about leaving. What if people died? Well, I don't think anyone could have not died in this destruction, but what if someone I know died? What if the fighting is still going on? I can worry later, I decide. The first thing I need to do is find somewhere safe to go. Someone to help me would be great too, but safety first.

I pushed the sheet harder, finding a spot to lean it against so I have a small space that I can crawl out of. Taking care not to bump my right shoulder much, I squeezed through, gritting my teeth in pain. I stumbled when I manages to crawl out of the remaining wreckage. Coughing again, I realized how thirsty I am. Even though I am still in a lot of pain because of the accumulative injuries that I have, I managed to take off, flying in the direction of the one safe spot I know. Sighing, I turned in mid air, towards Stark Tower.

My thoughts begin to wander as I fly through the air. I swerve and dodge around buildings, but my mind can only go to what happened presumably hours before. I can't help but feel guilty when I see all of the damage and destruction done to the city. It's not usually like me to feel guilty about this sort of stuff, but somehow this time I just do. You would think I am used to this by now, but I guess no one really gets used to something like this. I try not to think about the inevitable death toll from what had happened and how I might have been able to prevent them had I just been a bit quicker and a bit smarter.

I try not to look down anymore, but the sounds of police sirens, the flashing lights, the smell of smoke makes it hard to push back in my mind. Sighing, I land on a building so I can take a break. The action of flying isn't what is making me exhausted. Scenes of the fight flash around me. I swallow thickly. I can't not here. Pushing my back against the wall, I sigh loudly.

"Hey, I know you, you're Iro-"

"Shhhhhh, kid. I know who I am," I say annoyed at my sheer luck of having a kid on the one building I decided to land on.

"The tv said you were dead."

I turn to look at the kid. He's short, about waist height. Probably about five years old. He has dark messy hair, and bright blue eyes that almost seem to glow in the dark. Best part, he's got Captain America pajamas on. I want to say something about them, but I decided against it. "Do I look dead, kid?" I ask. Normally I'd be much nicer, but I'm in so much pain I can't help but get annoyed quickly. They think I'm dead? That could be problematic.

"No," He says quite bravely. He moves closer to inspect my armor, probably make sure I am the real deal. "You're okay, right?"

"Course I am, kid. What's your name?" I ask, trying to take my mind off of everything. Calm me down before I go home.

"Jason," He tells me confidently. He sits down next to me, though not close enough to touch me.

"Well, Jason, why are you up here all alone? It's probably much warmer in there," I inform him, pointing at the door with my left hand, that he left ajar when he came up here.

Jason shrugs. It's a very kiddy shrug, the one where he moves his whole body. "I like it up here, I'm closer to Mommy and Daddy," He says as an afterthought.

My stomach turns. His parents are dead. We have that in common, I hope we don't have much else in common for his sake. "They up there?" I ask, pointing at the sky. He nods. "You know, I've never been able to fly high enough to see for sure, but I hear that the people up there are always looking down," he seems to brighten up at this, but not by much. "Who are you living with now?"

"Aunty and Uncle Henry," He states immediately. He looks much happier already. "Yeah, they are really nice! They take me to the park and they play games!"He exclaims.

I smile even though he can't see it. I rise unceremoniously to my feet, groaning at how badly it hurts. I need to go. I can't sit here any longer. "Jason, your parents love you very much. Can you please go inside, you're going to catch phenomena."

Jason smiles up at me, running back to the door. "Bye Iro-"

"Hush up, kid!" I exclaim back.

Stopping was not a good idea. Good idea to clear my head, bad idea for my body. My head is spinning, and I just hope I don't pass out again. I need to get to the tower. If I don't… well, I'd much rather not fall out of the air. Doesn't help I didn't get the quiet time to release my thoughts. Not that I minded the kid much.

I just hope my reactor doesn't run out before I get to the tower, there is no way I would make it there otherwise.

Trying to take my mind off of what I can't control, my mind moves to something else, or, more specifically, someone else. Pepper. Oh god. Please let Pepper be at the tower. I won't be able to live with myself if something happened to her. When was the last time I saw her? I can't remember, it must have been at the tower. Please, for the love of god, let her be okay. The others have means of protecting themselves. Pepper is just… Pepper. She doesn't have powers and she surely doesn't have a suit unless she managed to grab one, which is highly unlikely to impossible. Please let her be at the tower. I can't lose her.

It is late. I know it is late, so why are the lights on at Stark Tower? Are they waiting for me? Maybe, after all, it was pretty weird, what happened I mean. Still, I didn't expect them to be waiting for me like this, if anything I thought they might have been on the streets looking for me, though I like this much better. It may still be dangerous on the streets.

I land on the heli-pad of Stark Tower, limping in as my suit disappears around me. I walk through the open doors, finding something I hadn't ever expected to see.

Pepper is sitting at the bar, with Dad hunched over her, hugging her tightly. His head is in her shoulder, and Pepper's arms are wrapped around Dad almost protectively while Dad sagged into her arms. Their backs are to me. I stand by the door nervously, it looks like Dad is actually in physical pain. Do I hear crying? What is going on? Pepper has her head leaned against Dad's and I'm pretty sure her arms are moving in circles, yep. She's rubbing his back. Has something changed between them? It certainly looks like it, but it looks like Pepper is trying to console Dad more than anything.

What did the kid say? He said the news is saying I'm dead. They can't believe that, can they?

**A/N**

**Heeeeeeeyo look who is alive. I tried to keep this as confusing as possible for you guys. Sorry, it's just too fun. So, yeah.**

**Please leave all comments, suggestions, criticisms and so on in the reviews. I love reading all of them. **

**I'm trying to get better and to get re-motivated, so hopefully I'll do better with writing this. I'm just not really in the happiest of places right now, but I will try to get in one for you guys. **

**Until next time.**


	2. Plot Twist!

**Happy New Year everyone!**

**So we had a slight bump in preparations of this fic. To put it bluntly, everything is gone. I think you all know by now that I like to write everything out beforehand, or at least lay some things out for myself. Well. I had the document in my computer and I had a fair amount done. I'm not sure how much anymore, but I was almost done. And somehow the document disappeared. I don't have a clue as to how that even happened, but it did. So, now we are going to try a new thing. I'm going to write and update as I can because I hardly think it is fair to leave you guys waiting around as long as you were again. Realistically we are looking at maybe a chapter a week. I sincerely apologize. I've said before that my computer hates me, and I think this actually proves it. **

"I just… she was right there, Pepper. I could have saved her. I should have saved her," Dad forced out miserably. I stopped walking completely, shock clenching my stomach. I have never heard him like this before. He sounds so… vulnerable. Wounded, almost. Guilty.

"You can't blame yourself, Tony," Pepper said. "She chose what she did. From what you said it sounded like her powers were having a meltdown. There's no way you could have prevented that," Pepper reassured.

I nod subconsciously agreeing with Pepper. Pepper never struck me as the strong one in their relationship, I always thought that Pepper would be the one to fall apart in times like this, and Dad would have to pick up all of the pieces, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. Pepper was always the one looking out for Dad. Not the other way around. Just because Dad is the guy doesn't mean anything.

"No. if I had just been a good father- if I had just listened to her- she tried! She tried but I didn't listen, Pepper!"

"Dad, there's nothing you could have done," I finally spoke, my throat feeling as though it had unstuck itself. Both Pepper and Dad whipped around, their heads snapping towards me. For a few seconds they just stared at me in shock, their faces transitioning from confusion to shock.

"Luna!" They both exclaim. Dad reaches me first, he sweeps me into a bone crushing hug. Pepper reached me moments after Dad did, and I was being squeezed between them both. It feels like they are trying to make sure I am real, that I won't just vanish from their arms. I gasp in pain, biting my lip to keep myself from yelling out loud. I tried to endure for them, I really did, but after a few moments I know I won't be able to handle much more of it. It feels as if my lungs were being stabbed by a thousand knives.

"I know this is a really big moment, but I think I broke my shoulder, and you're kind of crushing it!" I gasped. There is a sharp pain in my chest, and suddenly it is much harder to breath.

"Sorry!" Pepper exclaimed, while they both guided me to the sofa. I sit back, trying not to aggravate my shoulder or my ribs further, but it is becoming increasingly harder to breathe. My lungs literally feel like they are on fire. What happened, why does this hurt so badly?

I try to focus on breathing, but it hurts. It feels like my lungs are on fire. My breathing is becoming shallower with each breath I take. I'm scared. "Call the medical team, Pepper, she can't breathe!" Dad exclaims worriedly, squatting in front of me. I raised my hands over my head, something that I had once heard helped clear the air ways better. I am starting to get dizzy and light headed. Has the room always been so bright?

"Luna, you are going to be okay," Dad reassures, but he sounds much more forceful that reassuring, "Jarvis! Please perform a health examination on Luna!" Dad exclaimed, his voice becoming higher than it usually is. Dad is scared too. Everything was fine a few seconds ago. What changed?

"Sir, it appears that she has multiple contusions and lacerations, fractured clavicle, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a shattered hand. I suggest getting medical attention immediately."

"Is there any way I can make it easier for Luna to breathe right now?" Dad asked Jarvis urgently. My lung collapsed? I don't exactly remember what that means. It can't be good.

"Sir, you could do a number of things to help, but I am not sure that you are qualified-"

"Jarvis, Luna could very well die from asphyxiation, now what in the _hell _can I do that will help her? I thought I lost her once and I'm not going to lose her again!"

"Well sir, steady hands will be required for this, as well as a sharp knife. You would need to slide the knife between the ribs to relieve the pressure in her-"

The elevator doors open, and I sigh in relief. As much as I love living, I don't think I want to be stabbed by my Dad. I don't really trust the steadiness of his hands. The doctors rush to me, they seem anxious. If the doctors are worried about me it must be bad.. It is now that I notice how badly my hands are shaking, and how slowly I'm moving. They need to do this quickly. I don't know how much more of this I can take. The pressure in my chest is becoming all that I can notice. My chest is throbbing, pulsating with each beat of my heart. How much longer until I explode?

"Collapsed lung, Jarvis said? Two ribs punctured her lung, right Jarvis?" One of the paramedics asks, though they are all busy, taking my pulse, setting up the gurney.

"Correct, Mrs. Jameson," Jarvis answers calmly. How can he be calm when everything seems to be spiraling out of control.

"We'll need to get her into surgery immediately to set those bones, and to repair the hole in the lung. Alright, let's move her," the woman named Jameson said to her team. I try to get up but my whole body is shaking so much and it burns so badly that I decide moving isn't a good plan.

I am helped onto a gurney, I feel indignant. I wish I didn't need their help. It is much more painful to lay down than it was to sit. Right as I am about to ask if I can sit up, I get strapped down to the gurney. I immediately get a surge of anxiety. The feeling is a different kind of burn in my chest. I struggle, but because of how weak I am, they don't have to fight me too hard to get me down. Somewhere far away I heard Dad explaining to them to be careful, and why it is that I am fighting with them.

"Your father and Pepper have to take the next elevator down, there's not enough room in here, but they will be down as soon as they can, okay?" She asks as she cleans away the blood on my face.

I nod shakily as it hurts to breathe, so talking probably isn't the smartest thing to do. The elevator door dings. They wheel me into a room, hastily shutting the door behind them. Equipment is being pulled out and there is chaos around me, but I am focusing on breathing. Breathe. Just breathe. They will do the rest to save you – all you need to do is breathe.

My shirt is cut away from my body, but I couldn't try to stop them. I'm glad I decided to wear a sports bra instead of a regular bra that morning, but the top half of the bra is cut away too. One of the nurses wipes my chest with a funky smelling cloth. I tense. I know that smell. Disinfectant. What happens next is probably going to hurt like a bitch.

"Here, you can squeeze as hard as you want, I won't judge," The young male nurse saya to me with a smile. I manage a weak smile back as he grasped my hand gently. I'm glad that he offered, but I am also embarrassed. Usually I'm the person to help people, people usually don't help me.

"Luna, we don't have time for anesthesia, I'm sorry," Jameson says apologetically. I say nothing as the woman angles the needle over my chest, touching the spot near it gently. I squeeze the male nurse's hand tightly in anticipation of what is to come.

Jameson pushes down on the needle, I can tell by the sharp stab of pain, I had decided to look at the ceiling at the last moment, but even though the needle hurt going in, after the 'woooosh' sound followed by a spray of something from the needle, I immediately feel much better. It still hurts of course, but it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did before. I flinch as liquid flies and lands on my face. A part of me realizes that it is my own blood.

I watch the woman remove the needle, and attach a plastic tube to the small metal piece that was left in my chest, taping it down gently, and then placing plastic tubing in my nostrils. Is it oxygen, anesthesia, hopefully both. Once they were all set I relaxed into the gurney, realizing just how tense I was.

"How are you feeling?" The male nurse asks once I let go of his hand.

"Much better," I sigh in relief, "There is still some pain, but it hurts so much less," I admit. Besides the pre-supernova head pain, this is probably the most pain I have ever been in in my life. And I have been in some pretty painful situations. With all of this pain gone, I feel exhausted. Now that all of the adrenaline has practically run out of my body that is all that is left to feel.

I look up, noticing that both Dad and Pepper are looking into the room nervously through the window. I smile weakly, raising my left hand to give them a thumbs up. They both smile at that, and they relax visibly, looking at each other and smiling.

Jameson walks back into the room busily, attaching a heart rate monitor to my finger and listened to my chest with a stethoscope for a few minutes. "I think we should get some chest x-rays to see if surgery is needed, and if those ribs are in the proper place. We'll need some x-rays for that collarbone too, if it is in the right place you won't need surgery, but if it isn't we'll just need to go in and put it back into place. How are you feeling?" She asks, though she seems more concerned with writing down the stats from the monitors. The numbers coming from the monitor are probably much more helpful to her anyway.

"Much better, there's still some pain, but it is so much better," I inform her. She smiles, I can tell it is a pitying look, although I can see a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

"You gave us quite the scare there," She notes truthfully, "but you're fine now, you're in good hands," She assures me before walking out, probably to tell my parents everything she just told me. I relax back into the pillows further, wishing I could just melt back into them and go to sleep. Instead, I busy myself with studying the liquid that is coming from my body. The tube is mostly red from blood, but every so often a clear patch will come through, probably just air. I wonder how close I came to dying. Out of all of the things that could have killed me, a falling building almost did it. How ironic. If I am going to die, I want to go out guns blazing, not having a building falling on my weak bones. I slowly fall into an uneventful sleep.

**Special thanks to tron, musicmixer08, and Koren Flashblade for reviewing, and thank all of you who read, favorited, and followed as well.**

**To Koren Flashblade - I'm glad you like me again haha, it would be hard for me to kill off my protagonist, trust me, though I can't promise I'll never kill anyone. I refuse to say a word about anything happening in the future. As unpredictable as my computer is I hesitate to say anything. **

**To musicmixer08 - Not quite, however that is a pretty great idea. Sorry for the wait. **

**Next chapter we'll delve into a few different issues that will come up, but not quite the main issue, just something to cause drama. We'll also see questions about Luna's reasons for living as well. Other than that I will leave it to your imagination. **

**As you can all probably guess, I had to do a lot of research on collapsed lungs in hopes of properly portraying it. I'm only a junior in high school with no aspirations of going to medical school, so if you see anything wrong with what I've written please do not hesitate to call me out on it. I'd love for someone to tell me I'm wrong, just please don't yell at me. I have no training in that field of study, but I did my best with researching it. Please leave all questions comments, concerns, criticisms and general insecurities in the reviews. Seriously - I love reading all of your thoughts on this, it's what keeps me writing. So, review if you think I deserve it!**

**That's all from me friends. I'll hopefully see you all next week!**


	3. Hospitals Suck

**Hi all! Once again I would like to thank all of you for your continued support! I love you all.**

**I'm updating a bit sooner than I expected, but I think I found a good spot to stop off at. I'll just warn you all, I have midterms in almost two weeks, so what I'm going to try and do is get as much work done as possible this week, and give you one big upload, and then I'll be gone for a little while. I just want to give you guys some warning in advanced so none of you think I abandoned anything or died. **

**Disclaimer: All marvel characters and ideas are not mine. If it appeared in any movies or comics it isn't mine. **

Have you ever been awake, but can't open your eyes? Yeah, that's what is happening to me right now. I am not sure if I am really awake, or just dreaming. All I know is I can hear people talking.

"You need to tell her that she has to give up this hero act. She almost died. Is that enough, or do you want to wait until she actually dies?"

"But she didn't die. I cannot make her give up who she is, not while I am doing the same thing."

"So you are just going to let her die? She is going to kill herself! You are a grown man! She is a child, she shouldn't have to be fighting! Tell her you can handle it. That she doesn't need to fight!"

"I can't take that away from her. This is who she is, it isn't something that can be taken away. And if it weren't for her, a whole lot of people would have died at the Expo. As much as I hate to say it, if it weren't for her sacrifice worse things may have happened."

"Fine, let her destroy herself, just don't expect me to stay around and watch."

I wake up, because of the light. It's funny how at one moment you can be asleep, and then the next you're not. Well, not funny, just interesting. Everything is blurry, I assume it's because of the drugs, because even in my dazed state, I can tell I'm not feeling as much pain as I should. Even so, the pain is agonizing. Everything hurts.

The room is blurred, but through my distorted vision I can see someone sitting in the chair immediately to my left. Reaching out with my left, I realize that I now have a cast reaching from the tips of my fingers, just below my elbow, and although my shoulder hurts, it does not grind like it did before. I went through surgery, I realize in shock. How many days have passed? How long have I been here? What have they done to me?

I nudge the hand on the chair urgently. I need to know how long I've been here, and where 'here' is exactly. I can't remember what happened to me, why my chest hurts so god damned much. I need to get this person in the chair up, "Reveillez-vous!"

The person in the chair jerked straight up, looking at me. "What are you saying Luna? I can't understand you."

I stop for a moment, and lay back in my bed. I just spoke French. I haven't spoken in French in… well, years. I haven't spoken in French since I left Montreal. Why did I just speak French?

"Sorry, I think I'm a little out of it," I apologize. My vision clears up a little, and I realize that it is just Dad here, no Pepper.

Dad laughs, leaning back in his chair before resting his hand on top of mine, running his thumb over my fingers, "I think so too," he agrees, laughing again.

I glower at him, he's laughing at me, "Connard."

"What _is_ that?" he asks, frowning.

"French," I reply, with a grin. I now have a new way to annoy Dad.

He furrows his eyebrows, like he doesn't believe that I can speak French. He probably thinks I am too hopped up on meds to actually know what I am saying, "I'm going to call a nurse to check on you, okay? You just finished your fourth surgery, I think they need to know when you are awake, you weren't supposed to wake up for another few hours."

I frown as he steps out of the room, but get distracted by the IV in my right arm. I want to pull it out, but I know in my past that has caused me trouble.

I take a deeper breath than I had originally intended, and was met with intense pain in my chest. Eyes watering from the pain, I look down. There is a tube protruding from my chest. Immediately I want to rip the plastic tubing from my chest.

Wait. It's red. That's blood. I prod the thing nervously with my index finger, grimacing at the pain it causes when it moves. It feels sort of like an earring, but twenty times as worse, and it throbs every time I breathe. My fingers are positioned to pull it out when the door beside me opens.

"Don't touch that, Luna," the nurse reprimands as he walks into the room. I look up, and immediately blink in surprise. Who let nurse dreamy into the room?

Both Dad and the nurse laugh, though the nurse looks more uncomfortable, whereas Dad looks as though he finds this the funniest thing on Earth. Did I say that out loud?

"Thanks," he says as he chuckles quietly, though he comes close and looks at the tube going into my chest, and once he's done he looks at the heart rate monitor for a few moments. "Everything looks good, how are you feeling? You woke up early. You just had your fourth surgery - that one was for your hand. Now you just have to wait for your chest to drain, have a few days of observation, and you'll be allowed to leave," he explains while he busies himself with cleaning the skin around the tube with some type of disinfectant. I try hard to keep my face straight.

"My chest hurts," I say, looking at him pointedly. He removes his hand, a sheepish, goofy look on his face.

"Sorry," he apologizes, looking thoroughly amused. "Your father said you were speaking in French."

"Oui, mais je ne pense pas qu'il me croit," I reply in French. I may be on drugs, but I know for certain that my French is impeccable.

"Je te crois," he replies gently. Over his shoulder I see Dad looking dumbfounded. I stick my tongue out at him, I laughed once, but found it brought my chest searing pain. I grimace, a hand flying to my chest. It is stopped by nurse McDreamy.

"Essayez de ne pas rire, il va faire mal pendant un petit moment,"

"Comment savez-vous meme le francias?" I ask curiously. It isn't often you find someone who lives here that speaks French. Usually you find people who can hold a conversation in Spanish, but never French. It isn't as useful here as it is in Canada, unfortunately.

"Je ai etudie a Paris depuis quelques annees," he replies as he inspects the stitching on my collarbone. Biting my lip and making a sour face as he touches the bone, I do my best not to make a noise as he inspects my injury.

"What are you guys talking about?" Dad finally explodes. Where he thought our interactions were funny before, it seems he is irritated to be left out of the loop now.

"She knows French, I just told her to be careful about laughing because it might be painful for her, and that I learned French while studying in France. You've got a smart girl, sir. She's fluent," he compliments me with a grin.

"I never liked France," Dad says moodily. My grin turns into a pained laugh. The nurse, who I still haven't learned the name of, looks at us both awkwardly and says something about needing to visit another patient before stepping out.

"I wonder who hired him," Dad says, staring at the door as the completely unaware nurse continued to walk away. My pain filled laughter is silent and cannot be heard.

Two days later when I have been weaned off of some of the stronger dosages of medicine I no longer act like someone hopped up on drugs. I am a lot more subdued due to pain, however. I refuse to say anything though, because if I do, I'll be put on stronger medication again, and it will take me longer to get out of the hospital. Apparently I was transferred to a different hospital after I passed out and before I got my surgeries, so technically I've been in the hospital for about five or so days. I had two days where I had surgeries, and the first day was when I was moved.

Yesterday I was sort of lonely. Apparently because we are so far away from both of the Stark Industries major buildings, a lot of the business that is going on has to be done via conference video call. They thought it wouldn't be good for me to be around them talking all day. To be honest, it probably would be very mentally exhausting, but I would have given anything to have anyone around.

So far I have learned that I am in a hospital somewhere in Florida. The nurse told me yesterday, but I forgot, and I felt embarrassed to ask him a second time.

Just as the nurse left from changing my bandages, which, by the way, is a pain in the ass, Dad walks in. "Morning sweetheart, how are you feeling?" he asks grumpily. His hair is tousled and I am fairly certain he just woke up despite it being eleven.

I try my best to not laugh, "As good as you can feel when only one lung is really working," I reply, shrugging. With all of the medication I can't exactly tell how I feel. The best way to explain it is I feel sore. I feel like I ran a marathon, and then someone decided to play tug of war with my lungs, and hit me. Basically, every time I move it hurts, which isn't a huge problem considering they have me strictly on bed rest, which is quite humiliating when you need to go to the bathroom.

"Yeah, well," he says, looking uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm not sure how to talk about this, so I'm just going to say it. I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have kept anything from you, and I shouldn't have acted the way I did," he says, taking a seat beside me. I try my best not to look uncomfortable. I wish he brought this up at a different time. I'm not really in the best shape to be potentially arguing with anyone. "and I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And that I know you were talking about living with Pepper if you needed to. I know that I did a lot of bad things, and I wasn't fair to you, but I do love you. You know that right? I want you to continue living with me, but if you don't feel comfortable doing so I understand…"

I can't believe he is saying any of this. I don't think I would ever live to see the day Dad apologizes. I guess in a way, I almost didn't. I look at him, trying to think of something I can say. He looks pitiful. He looks almost sheepish. His mouth is drawn in a thin line, and his eyes are begging me to forgive him. He isn't trying to guilt trip me. I can tell Dad is serious, and that he is actually sorry for what he did, but is that enough?

I know how hotheaded he is, and that isn't something that will just go away. "I was so hurt, Dad," I finally say. I notice the tears forming in the corners of my eyes, but for once, I let them fall. "I thought… I thought that you didn't care. Do you know how hard that was for me? After everything that I went through and I thought that you – my father – didn't care if I almost-"

My voice breaks. I don't sob. My lungs burn from the long exhale I take. I take a moment to compose myself before continuing, "I thought after everything we went through together, that I still wasn't important enough for you."

His eyes widen, I can see the despair in his eyes. I know he is sorry for his actions, and I want to forgive him, but I need him to know how painful it was for me on his birthday. I need him to know what it felt like when I yelled my lungs out for him to stop, and for him to fire his repulsor. "Luna, I am so sorry. I never meant for you to – I'll always be your father. I made a mistake when I did that. I was drunk and I was stupid. I was worried that you and Pepper would get… emotional when you found out I was dying. I'm sorry, and I should have told you," he concedes, looking at me. He actually looks ashamed. Which is interesting. I've never really seen him feel bad for his actions… ever, except when I hear him talk about how he used to distribute weapons, but I never really hear about that. It is weird to hear the words 'I'm sorry' come from his mouth when it isn't sarcastic.

"I guess I should apologize too," I say evenly. As much as I think it was my burden to bare, Dad and Pepper had every right to know about the problems concerning my powers. It was wrong for me to hide it from them, "I'm sorry for not telling you about my powers going out of control. Even if there was nothing you could have done, you had a right to know. I think we should start telling each other things instead of trying hide everything," I suggest. After being alone for so long I forgot that parents are people you are supposed to be able to confide in.

Dad smiles and nods, "I think I like that."

Dad leaves to go get himself some food. I wish he could do the same for me. Hospital food isn't the greatest, and what I _really _want is a nice cheese and spinach bun from the bakery down the street from Stark Industries in New York, but because we are in Florida that can't happen. I don't blame Dad for leaving to get normal food. Hospital food doesn't taste so great, and at the moment, no outside food is allowed. They want to get me used to eating food again before they will let me have outside food, I can't really see there being much of a difference, but apparently there is.

Using my casted hand, I grab my phone, quite happy with the fact that I managed not to drop it.

From Jaime:

Hey Luna, how are you doing? I heard what happened in New York, I'm so glad you are okay! We all miss you here. I can't wait until you get back!

I smile at Jaime's message. She must have gotten into contact with Pepper or Dad to know that I am better now, and can text. I'm not too worried about scratching my phone with my cast, Stark phones are pretty durable compared to every other brand, however, texting is going to be fun.

I clumsily try to text my reply.

To Jaime:

I must have the worst luck in the world! Thanks to this damn cast I cant rea;y type that well. Tanks for texting me. I whast getting oreety bored.

Towards the end I started giving up on trying to spell correctly, considering my dominant hand is in a cast and my other arm has some nerve damage in my shoulder, and I need to go through physical therapy for it, I don't think Jaime will mind that much.

From Jaime:

We can skype if that's easier. I'm just studying for finals but I could use a break anyway.

To Jaime:

g o ffor it

I push the button on my bed that raises the back, so I am now in a sitting position. The movement burns my ribs, and I scramble to push myself into a more comfortable position. I would just sit up on my own, but if any of the nurses see me they will yell at me. Apparently it is easier for my chest cavity to drain if I am not in a full upright position. So, the only reason I am listening is because I want to get out of here faster, and because I would like to get rid of this discomfort as quickly as possible. I use my left hand again to drag my little mobile table that they put my food on, and prop up my phone so Jaime can see me and I won't have to hold the phone the whole time. The call comes in, I sit up straighter, wincing at the twinge in my ribs, and click 'Answer'.

"Hi Luna!" Jaime exclaims the moment the call connects. She looks as if she just woke up.

I mentally groan, thinking of the time difference, it is two here, meaning it is eleven there. She probably _did _just wake up. "Hi," I reply, frustrated at how croaky I sound. Hospitals and chest drain machines can do that to you.

She grins. No doubt I look horrible, but she seems happy to see me in general. "You look a lot better than I thought you were going to," She comments happily.

"What did you think I was going to look like? Death?" I ask sarcastically.

_"Well,_" She replies sarcastically, laughing at my expression.

"_Hey_," I hiss, trying my best not to laugh, "Be nice to the cripple!" I exclaim, pouting.

She grins, "I doubt you're impaired in any type of way anyway. You're too strong for that."

I grin at the compliment. I wish I could say it is true. Being in the hospital is so boring, all I want to do is at least get up and stretch my legs, but they won't let me. I get fidgety and nervous when I get confined to any one spot for too long. I think Dad and Pepper know why, but I haven't explicitly explained it to them. They probably don't need me to.

"Eh," I grunt uncomfortably as I try to reposition myself in my bed, "I'm not allowed to get up at all, and one hand has pins in it and my collarbone on the other side has a plate. I can't really use my arms much. I think I start physical therapy for my right in a day or two actually, so that will be exciting. Otherwise I'm not impaired though," I say it with false cheer. It is meant to be a joke, but I accidentally let out the anger underneath it.

She changes from cheerful to pitying in a matter of moments. I wish she didn't. I don't want her to feel bad for me, I'm just more angry with being confined here. "Are there any hot nurses? There are always hot nurses at hospitals," Jaime states, changing the subject.

I smile, shaking my head, "If there are, I haven't found any. Though when I woke up and was still kind of screwed up from the anesthesia I thought there was a hot nurse. It turns out he's a thirty something year old guy with a huge mole on his cheek."

Jaime bursts out into hysterical laughter. My cheeks flush in embarrassment. I guess I really was delirious. When she stops laughing, Jaime's expression turns serious. I guess she thinks I am okay enough to tell me something important.

"Have you heard from Brandon at all? His parents say he's missing. They haven't heard from him for over a week. They're really worried."

I am careful not to let my expression betray my feelings. Brandon is missing. He has been one of the things I have been worried about since I woke up in the hospital. I don't know why he betrayed me, but I think he did it of his own accord. Brandon just doesn't seem the type to betray someone he is friends with – at least not without some sort of subtle warning. Hearing that he is missing is both a relief and stressful. He could be anywhere.

"Really?" I ask, deciding that this is my best opportunity to get information about him, "he said he was in New York with his family."

The statement is enough to make Jaime frown. "No. He lied, I guess. This is so unlike him, I just don't get it. Three days before you went to New York Brandon told his parents he was staying over a friend's house for a few days, and when they finally called his parents they found out he never went there. They haven't heard from him since," She sniffs. I always feel weird when people cry. I never know what to do, but right now the last thing I want to do is say anything nice about Brandon. After what he did, I don't think I could see him without wanting to beat the shit out of him – after I get an explanation of course.

"That's really weird. Was he doing anything strange? Before – that just didn't seem normal?" I ask compulsively.

She shakes her head, "If he was planning this he hid it really well."

The doctor walks into the room. I am glad Pepper and Dad were able to clear their schedule for this, it would be really hard to get all of this news by myself. After another week and a half in the hospital, I have done extensive physical therapy, and I have decent mobility back in my right arm now. The cast on my left is still there. I don't really think there is much of a need for it anymore. They know about the gold-titanium alloy in my bones, which should do a great job about holding together the bone, but because they don't know much about my particular case, they are hesitant to do much different to me than they would a normal patient. They also took the chest drain out. It feels a million times better with the damned thing removed, but I still have a patch of gauze taped on my chest because the hole there needs to heal. Now that the drain is gone, I am hopeful that they will release me. I was told before by a nurse that the drain was the main reason I am being held here, and now that I don't have it, I don't see a reason for me to stay.

"I'm glad you both could be here for this, I think it is important for you to be here," the doctor, Dr. Florence acknowledges both Pepper and my father, giving them each a nod. I like Dr. Florence better than most doctors I have had. He has a French accent, and can also speak French. He reminds me of a friend I met in Canada. "I wanted to inform you on Luna's progress. Right now she has regained a significant amount of mobility in her right arm. If she continues with physical therapy, which I recommend, I am confident in saying that she will have full mobility in her arm. Her left hand is healing quite well. I'd say the cast could possibly come off in another two weeks."

I grin at that. For the most part, I have been forced to do everything right handed, which has helped with getting my arm back to normal, but is very tedious. Using your non-dominant hand for almost two weeks more than normal is very frustrating.

"However, there are still a few things I am worried about. I am glad you shared with me your particular… specialty. I've been able to monitor some of your electromagnetic fields. They are very abnormal for a human being, which I guess is to be expected. I think you are about to experience… a growth spurt of sorts," he explains awkwardly. Just by hearing him talk I can tell he has no clue what my 'growth spurt' will be, but I do. "I suggest you stay in for observation, and perhaps some testing.

It feels as though my blood has run cold. I inhale sharply, anxiety and fear rushing through my body. I grip the bedspread tightly. Closing my eyes, I try not to set anything on fire. The windows creak from the increase in pressure in the room. Images of my childhood flash in my mind. I take a deep breath. In. Out. My breathing is shaky, probably a combination of weakened lungs and anxiety, but I feel as though I have calmed myself enough to speak.

"That is not a good idea," I say firmly.

"I could help you – science has improved greatly sin-"

I stare at him coldly. There is a lot I want to do to him right now. He doesn't have a cold, hungry, yearning look in his eyes. He looks like he wants to help, but that doesn't change anything. "There isn't much you can do to help me. I can assure you that science hasn't improved that much. I don't think science has much to do with what happened to me. From what I understand, and what I remember, my biological father didn't give me my powers. I had them before, but I think he enhanced them somehow, or unlocked them. He never told me how, and I don't think I really want to know anyway."

"There is so much we could lea-"

"There are two people who have an inkling of what my powers are. One is dead, and I have no clue where the other is. I'm sure at some point there might be technological capabilities that could assist in finding out what is wrong with me, but I would never be interested in such a thing," I say coldly.

Dr. Florence looks at Dad for support. Wrong move, buddy. "Mr. Stark, your daughter could potentially be in da-"

"I am Luna's legal guardian, and I say she isn't doing it if she doesn't want to," Dad says, the end all be all. Dr. Florence nods, not arguing further.

"Then we'll move to the last, most prevalent concern. Your lungs. Right now they are still healing, I suggest bed rest for the next five days, and slowly easing yourself into more demanding physical activity as time goes on," he explains. We all nod, I do so slower than my parents. He sounds like he is easing us into something potentially upsetting. I don't like it.

"I understand you want to go home. While I understand, doing so could be problematic," I hold my breath. "Once you collapse a lung, it is more likely to happen again, and with what you do, that could be a problem, however, getting home is your main concern right now. You should wait two to four weeks before flying again," he says calmly, like that isn't a huge deal. "The increase in pressure from a plane flight could cause your lungs to collapse again."

I take a few moments to understand what it is that Dr. Florence just said. Then, I turn to my father in horror. If I can't fly anymore, how can I ever be Iron Maiden?

**I think we'll finish it off here. I guess we can start with giving you the French-English translations.**

**"Wake up!"**

**"Asshole"**

**"Yes but I don't think he believes me"**

**"I believe you**

**"Try not to laugh, its going to hurt for a little while"**

**"How do you even know French?"**

**"I studied in Paris for a few years"**

**So, I've alluded to Luna living in Canada a few times this series, this being the most obvious. I've always believed Luna lived in Canada at some point. I think we'll get to that within the next few chapters. A few things need to happen before we can introduce the main villain, so don't expect that for a little while. **

**To Koren Flashblade - Thanks! Yeah, I'm sure a lot of other people have lost files too, it's just frustrating to have to redo the whole thing. What I'm thinking of doing is changing some things up to keep myself interested - not that I don't find this interesting - its just that I've never liked writing things over again. **

**To musicmixer08 - Thank you so much!**

**That's all from me! I'd like to thank you all once again for your continued support! Please send all comments, criticisms, and concerns in the reviews. Reviews are the best way for me to get feedback, and I just love reading them. It keeps me focused and generally helps my writing. Once again I'd like to say that if there is anything wrong with my writing - whether it be the French or the medical stuff - I'd like to say that I am no expert. I'm trying. If I get anything wrong please let me know so I can fix it. I'm a high school student with little to no knowledge on the subject, so please don't rip me apart. **

**Until next time!**


	4. This is the Chapter that Never Ends

_**Trigger warning! This chapter talks a little of suicide/ a character contemplating suicide. Read at your own risk!**_

**Hello everyone, as always, I would like to thank you all for your continued support. It really means a lot to me. **

**So, as we know Luna just had her talk with the doctor. He told her she won't be able to fly for a while, so she is reasonably upset. **

**We're picking up here. I told you last week that I would work as hard as possible to get you a bigger chapter update. I think I did that. I'm probably not going to update next week because I have midterms, but I promise I will make it up to you all. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man, that is unfortunately owned by Marvel. I, however, will be borrowing their characters. Damn muse won't leave me be.**

I am grateful when we arrive home. As much as I wanted to get out of the hospital, I will admit that I am very exhausted from having to walk around and not be tied strictly to bed rest.

It took us a few days to actually get home because we couldn't fly. I got to sleep in the limo for most of the ride, but now that I'm home the 'bed rest' rule is probably going to be enforced. "I'm going to go work on my car," I say quietly, hoping no one will hear me.

"Actually," Pepper says, "I think that was on one of the 'don't' lists," She informs me with an apologetic smile.

"Ugh!" I groan loudly, taking care not to grimace at the pain in my chest from the noise. "What is on the 'okay' list?" I ask in annoyance. After all that time I spent in the hospital doing nothing, I just want to spend one day getting greasy from working on my car. Is that too hard to ask?

"Bed rest," Pepper replies, using her 'Pepper smile'. The smile when she knows you have to listen to her.

I groan, throwing my head back. I move to pick up my bag, but my hand is pushed away by my father, who picks the bag up, slinging it over his shoulder, "Doctor said no heavy lifting."

They are both smiling at me, so I give them the best glower I can muster before walking begrudgingly into the house, and up the stairs to my room. It hurts my pride when I realize I am out of breath when I am only half way up the stairs. I flop on my bed, glaring at my father's pitying gaze when he drops my bag by the foot of my bed.

"It's only a week, Moon. You act like someone cut off your legs!"

"It sure feels like it," I mumble under my breath, just loud enough for him to here. He sighs as he shuts my door.

I don't mean to be a pest, but sitting around for three weeks without doing anything is nothing short of torture. I have so much energy built up inside me it's almost painful. I'm not lying when I say that I haven't been able to sleep for a few days. I just feel… I don't know. I feel like I have electricity just running through my body. I feel so static charged.

I feel as though the energy is running through me. I get up, crossing my room in only a few steps. I sit at my desktop computer, knowing if I went down to the lab it would be too much of a temptation. "Jarvis can you start up my computer for me?" I ask, opening my drawers to find my mouse. I can play a few games at least, to keep the boredom away.

When the computer lights up, I put a hand on it to plug my mouse in. The lights, air conditioning, and my computer all turn off, and I can hear a collective sigh come from the whole house. Did we just have a power outage?

I hear Pepper yell to Dad, and Dad yell something back to Pepper. I get gingerly to my feet, a hand flying to my sore ribs.

"What happened?" I ask, not as loudly as I would have liked when I reach the railing of the loft. Pepper looks up at me from her seat on the couch, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know. I think your father is in the lab, we should check on him," She walks quickly to the lab stairs, expecting me to follow.

For the short time I have lived here there has never been a power outage. Stark Manor is just too good. We have backup systems, generators, the works. We even have back up water supplies and a hidden food room – just in case. There is no way that the power could have gone out without there being a major problem.

I draw out my armor, excluding the metal in my collarbone, hand, and ribs, and just spreading the rest of the metal thinner over the rest of my body. Because my bones are still not fully healed I don't want to take the metal out of the bones and risk further injury.

The added weight to my chest makes it harder to breathe, but I ignore it. I hold my breath in anticipation, lighting the palm of my hand to have some light. When I finally make it to the bottom of the stairs, I retract my armor, but keep the flame lit in my hand. I feel strangely drained. I'm not sure if it is just because I haven't used my powers in so long, but even so, it shouldn't drain me this much. My powers weren't meant to kill me. They're like physical fitness. If someone runs after not running for a long time they won't die.

Dad is standing at the wall opposite of the one I am at, with the large breaker box open. I make my way to Pepper, who is standing a few feet from my father. I walk past her, standing next to Dad. I peer in at the board, and my stomach turns at the sight. The whole electrical board is fried.

"Dad what happened? What did you do?" I ask, looking at the board in horror. If that happened to the board, I can only imagine what could have happened to him. How many times is he going to almost kill himself?

Dad rubs his beard, the hand travelling to his hair, which he grabs a fistful of, looking at the board thoughtfully. "I didn't _do_ anything," he says, his hand still full of his hair, eyes never leaving the electrical board.

I frown, "Then what _happened?_"

He takes a deep breath in, then lets it out, his hand leaving his head, and now crosses his chest, "I don't know. It _looks _like there was a huge power surge, but that can't be it, because the building down the road still has its lights on," he sighs, dragging a stool from his desk to the board. I mimic him, studying the electrical board myself. From what I can tell, that is exactly what happened. Nothing else could have done that much damage.

"There isn't a storm, so it couldn't have been lightning…" I mutter. Dad nods, but his eyes don't leave the board.

"Hey Pep, can you turn all of the light switches off? I'm going to have to call an electrician to fix all of this. Moon and I could do it ourselves, but it'll take us far too long, and I don't want Luna doing all of that bending and heavy lifting with her injuries."

I huff a groan, but Pepper leaves, flashlight in hand from Dad's desk. Dad stands from his chair, crossing the room to his desk. "I am going to get Jarvis back up and running. See if he managed to identify the problem before everything went out. Help me please," he asks, retrieving a flashlight of his own from his desk.

I nod as he tosses me another flashlight, and then a headlamp. I turn them both on, slipping the lamp on my head. The beams of light manage to make the room much creepier than it actually is. Dad shows me the box that controls Jarvis. It too is pretty mangled, more so than the electrical box. Dad thinks it might take all night to fix. He returns a few moments later with a large battery and some tools for us to use, as well as Jarvis' back up motherboards. Dad has a lot of back up stuff for Jarvis in case anything like this happens. Luckily he also has a file where he can store all of the information as a backup as well, so nothing is getting lost, it's just more of a pain to replace everything, and have it in the proper place.

Once we have everything set, we get to work.

Nine hours later, three pizzas, and four bathroom breaks later, Dad and I set down our tools. The sun rose about three hours ago, but since today is Pepper's day off, she isn't up yet. "We're done," Dad says, stretching his back as he stands from his chair. My ribs, shoulder, and hand burn, but I don't say anything. I'm just glad to be doing something productive. Dad takes his tablet off of the cart next to us, wiping away some of the grime that had settled on it with his black Sabbath tee shirt.

Dad connects his tablet to Jarvis' core. There is no wifi or Bluetooth because of the power outage, so we need all wired connections now. The screen turns from white to blue. "I'm sorry sir, it seems I experienced a malfunction," Jarvis says apologetically.

Dad rolls his eyes, hunching over the tablet, "Really Jay? I had no idea. Do you know what caused the power surge?"

"It seems that Mrs. Luna did, sir."

Dad looks at me for a moment before frowning back at the tablet. "We must have made a mistake while fixing him. That can't be right."

But my stomach feels like it turned into a knot, and I have a tingling sensation going through my entire body. I completely forgot about my new power. I forgot I would have to be dealing with it. I feel like I am going to be sick. That tingly, energetic feeling earlier wasn't just me being over energetic from not being able to do anything, its electrical energy that my body is making. "He's not wrong," I manage to say through my shock and fear. The hair on my arms are standing on end, and I feel like someone dipped me in a cold ice bath.

I bite my lip, trying to blink quickly to keep myself from crying. Of all of the powers I could have gotten, I got electricity.

I can hear something crackling, but I am too busy trying to keep myself from having a breakdown.

"Luna, what's wro-" my father's voice is interrupted by a high pitched yell and buzzing. The moment his hand leaves my skin the buzzing stops, but he is lying on the ground, curled in a fetal position, panting.

"Oh my god!" I screech, dropping to my knees beside him. I just electrocuted my father. The thought makes me feel like I am going to puke. My entire body has shifted into panic mode. I hear the concrete ceiling crack above us. I know I caused that too. "Dad – Dad are you okay? Dad!"

"I - I fine. I'm okay," he says but sounds hesitant and scared. He moves to put a hand on my shoulder, to comfort me, but I scramble away, shaking from fear.

"No – no don't. Don't touch me, I'm going to hurt you!" I get to my feet as quickly as possible, sprinting to my room. I need to keep them safe. I don't know when I'm going to use my powers accidentally. What if I killed him?

I rush past Pepper, who looks like she just woke up, "Luna!"

I keep moving, too afraid of what might happen if I stop. Once I make it to my room I use my telekinesis to barricade my door. Then, my knees give out beneath me, and I dissolve into a pile of tears.

They were at my door for three hours. First banging on the door, demanding to be let in, then telling me that I am _not_ a monster, then pleading to be let in. I think they are still sitting by my door, maybe waiting for me to come out, but I have everything I need in here. I have a bathroom, I have books. I can keep myself locked in here for a very long time, but right now I'm sitting in the middle of the floor, staring at the bed that is in front of my door, shaking.

I have electrical powers. I swallow hard merely at the thought. After all of those years I spent trying to forget, to make peace with what happened, the world finds a new way to torture me. I imagine Thompson in whatever type of afterlife there is, laughing at me. After all, he did tell me he would torture me until I die. I guess he got his wish.

For a moment I look at my closet, and then my bathroom. I have belts, I have pills. I can end it all now, if I want. Spare myself from the horrible things that are going to happen, but I know that won't work. The body has its own subconscious will to live, even if your thoughts tell you that you want to die. My body won't let me die. In my body's own desperation to live, my skin will become so hot it will incinerate the belt, or burn up the pills. I can't say I am proud that I know this from experience. At least I won't waste my time, or get my hopes up.

I get the chills. That's another weird thing. The metaphorical 'chills' you get when something particularly stimulated, but one would think with my abilities that I wouldn't be able to get them. But I do. Every time I think about my electrical powers I do.

It isn't the good kind of chills. They are the kind of chills you get when you are watching a horror movie, and you realize the villain is right behind the protagonist. I guess in a metaphorical sort of way, the villain is right behind the protagonist of my story.

My head aches, but I'm not sure if it is because I have been crying or if it is a power induced headache. Hoping it isn't the latter, I push myself to my feet so I can get some water.

Tony and Pepper sat at the bar, each sitting in silence. After trying to get Luna to open the door for three hours, they decided to go downstairs. At least she couldn't overhear them so they could try and find a way to convince her to leave her room.

Tony was taking this harder than Pepper, who seemed to stay calm despite the circumstances. Tony didn't know how she did it. The only time he had really seen Pepper lose it was when they were all in danger because of Vanko. She'd gotten angry plenty of times before, and certainly upset when they thought Luna had died, but he thought she would have been at least somewhat shaken with what just happened. Maybe Tony's nerves were just a little funny because he was shocked. He hoped so.

He knew Luna would never purposefully hurt him, and therefore, once he knew he wasn't dying, being hurt didn't matter to him. What did matter was the look on Luna's face when he was shocked. He had wanted to tell her that he was okay, that it didn't hurt, but his body wasn't responding to what his brain was telling it to do. Tony knew it was an accident. He was more worried about what Luna would think of herself than his own health at that moment. He'd had worse, after all.

"What are we going to do? We can't let her go on thinking she's a monster," Tony said over the rim of his glass of scotch. He needed the drink to calm his nerves. His hands were still quaking, but he wasn't worried about his hands.

Pepper sighed thoughtfully, rubbing her arms, "I think we should give her some space. If we are too protective we'll push her away, but we also can't let her think that we've given up on her, or that we think she is too dangerous."

Tony nodded, still at a loss as to what to do. He'd been in contact with many girls for as long as he could remember, but aside from Pepper, to an extent, he had never bothered to learn how to comfort them, or learned how to help them react in certain situations. He'd never really done that with many people actually, not just girls. He knew how to do good things for people on occasion, be nice, but that usually included giving them stuff, the occasional inspirational dialogue. But he knew Luna enough that buying her something or lecturing her wouldn't do anything for her. He knew that much, at least.

"I have an idea," Pepper said confidently. She rose from her seat, blackberry in hand. Tony wanted to follow her, but he didn't. He knew Pepper was good at this stuff, and he also knew that he had a tendency to screw things up when he tried to be nice sometimes. Like with the strawberries. And in this case, it wasn't the thought that counted.

Tony also felt upset that he and Pepper hadn't had any time to be _together_ since the night on the roof, but he couldn't help feeling guilty when he admitted it to himself. They'd been so worried about Luna for the past few weeks that they didn't have any time to figure out their relationship now, if they could call it that. Tony wanted it to be one – even though the thought scared him – but he wasn't sure it was one. Pepper had sort of moved in, and they'd been sleeping in the same bed, but there wasn't all of the touching and the kissing that he was used to. He was almost certain Pepper wouldn't want to do all of that, at least not in the first few weeks, but he'd thought he would at least get a smooch on the cheek.

And then there's the daytime. There were no cutesy name calling or flirting, no undressing each other with the eyes, not even holding hands. Even though this wasn't the type of love Tony was used to, he wanted to do it with her. Tony was worried he might have lost Pepper, but if he did she wouldn't be sleeping in his bed every night, right? Tony hoped –as out of character as it sounds for her – that she didn't feel obligated to sleep in his bed. He didn't want her to be doing anything she didn't want to do.

He wanted to tell her this, all of this, but this situation wasn't like any of his one night stands. He was worried of losing her. Right now he wanted to go up to her, wrap his arms around her waist and kiss the length of her shoulder and neck. Tell her that they were going to figure everything out. That everything was going to be okay. But he didn't want her to tell him that she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. He didn't want to lose her.

Instead he waited until Pepper was finished with her phone call, and sat back down in her chair beside him. Her hand rested on the bar just close enough where Tony could reach out and hold it. Tony had heard a number of women, at some point or another, say that men never take a hint. In that moment, Tony wondered if that was his hint.

'Screw it' he thought to himself, taking a deep sip of his scotch, 'why the hell not?'

Tony reached out with his left hand, gently resting his hand on top of hers, sliding his thumb underneath her palm. Her hand moved, Tony immediately let his hand slacken, thinking 'here it comes', until Pepper intertwined her fingers with his.

"What did you do, just now?" Tony asked curiously, still surprised that Pepper hadn't pulled her hand away.

"You'll see," Pepper said, smirking in a way that made Tony feel very uncomfortable, but in a good way.

Pepper leaned closer, and Tony was sure this was his cue to take things farther. He gently initiated the kiss, and Pepper never pulled away.. Tony guessed his thoughts had finally been answered.

A knock sounds from my door. I sit up on my bed, the backboard is leaning against the door, so the movement had vibrated the bed, though only slightly. This is a new tactic.

"Go away," I say, taking care to keep the hoarseness out of my voice.

"I'm not here to make you come out, or to make you let me in. I just thought you might be hungry," Pepper's voice floats through the door.

I want to believe her, but what if they are waiting on the other side of the door, waiting to bust the door down the moment I open it? I don't want anyone to get hurt. It will be better if I stay in here.

"I'm not hungry," I reply. My stomach immediately disagrees with me.

"Well, I'll just leave it out here for you in case you do get hungry," Pepper insists, "its spinach cheese rolls, pasta primavera from the place down the street, and fresh cookies from the bakery a few miles away."

My mouth waters at the mention of the food, but I force myself to stop. They are probably just waiting for me to come out so they can force me to stop. I'll wait for a few hours, and then I'll get the food. They won't wait around for that long.

After three days of waiting for Luna to leave her room, Tony was starting to get annoyed. He thought if he waited she'd eventually come out on her own, but he thought wrong. Luna hadn't come out at all, except to get her food, and even then she would usually wait for an hour before she got it. He didn't understand how she liked eating her food cold, but now he and Pepper had taken to getting her food that wasn't usually eaten hot, sandwiches and things like that. Today the electricians are supposed to arrive to fix everything, and Pepper suggested Tony warned Luna so she wouldn't get scared.

"Why don't you?" Tony asked, "she's better around you. I always say the wrong thing…"

Pepper gave Tony a supportive look, "You need to learn how to talk to people, Tony. Stop being so abrasive and be caring."

Tony rolled his eyes, and got up to walk up the stairs. It's not like he meant to hurt people. He wouldn't do it purposely. Well yeah, he would, but he wouldn't do it to Luna. Sometimes he meant to be caring. He just wasn't.

When Tony got to the door he knocked. He noticed, with a small smirk, that the past few days worth of dishes were piled neatly at her door. At least it looks like she's been eating.

"I'm not coming out," Came the defensive answer. Tony sighed leaning against the door.

"I'm not asking you to, although I would really like you to," he paused. When there was no answer, he continued, "I just thought you would want to know there are electricians coming in to fix all of the damage. I'll tell them to stay away from your room if you want."

"Yes, please do that," Luna answered, although she didn't sound so miserable that time.

"You know, you can come out whenever you want. You're not in trouble," Tony offered. He tried not to sound annoyed, but he felt annoyed. How can she think she is so dangerous? How can she stand to lock herself up? She must know that they don't blame her. Tony knows that Luna can't control herself right now, but she has control over her telekinesis, and pyro abilities – mostly. She'll be able to control her electricity too.

"Dad… I don't want to come out," Luna said sadly through the door, "I'm too dangerous."

"You're not dangerous, Luna. You got those powers for a reason," Tony said, opening and closing his fists angrily. He wanted to hit something, but he knew that Luna wouldn't appreciate it.

"Not everything is meant to be good, Dad. Sometimes bad things happen."

"That's what I thought when I got my reactor. Now look at me," Tony said confidently, hoping to be inspirational.

"You are an old man who can't run because his lungs are too squished, you get attacked every few months, you almost died –"

"But I'm _alive_, Luna. _That's _my point. The reactor saved me. Obadiah would have killed me, but because of the reactor I was able to save myself. Sometimes bad things happen, and they turn out to be okay," Tony said, walking away from the door. Some part of him hoped that he'd gotten through to Luna, but he knew how stubborn she was. He was certain that she wouldn't be affected at all by him.

A few hours after Dad came to my room, I hear a collective whirring come from the house.

"Great to be back, Miss Stark," Jarvis says before I can even test to see if the electricity in the house is back.

"Great to have you back Jay. I'm sorry about what happened," I apologize. I'm not sure why I am apologizing to an AI, but somehow it feels right to do. After everything, Jarvis feels like family.

"Not a problem, Luna. Everyone deserves a second chance."

I make a noise, but I don't comment on it. I don't feel like I deserve a second chance. I've been infected with this evil, horrible ability. What I deserve is to be shot. I don't say that out loud.

For the past few days I've felt the electrical energy come back. I know it's a bad thing to let it fester inside of me, but I'm too afraid to let it out. I don't want to let it out. I want it to go away. I'm too afraid to release it on my own terms, but I'm also afraid of what will happen if I get angry or sad or any other type of strong emotion. It will be much worse if I let it release on its own.

I try to think back to when I was getting used to my other powers. It's not hard. I'd fled the country to Canada, taking buses when I could sneak on, the occasional train to. When my powers managed to work for me, rather than against me, it was fairly easy to sneak somewhere I wasn't supposed to be.

I'd made it all the way to Montreal. I wasn't sure how far I'd wanted to run, just that it was better to get as far away as possible. Montreal wasn't like most places I'd been. For the most part, people were very nice. Many gave me food because I looked as homeless as I was. There was one night though. I was at a park. Summer in Canada was beginning to end. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't want to go back to the States, but if I were to continue living outside like I had, I needed to go some place warm. I knew that I wouldn't survive the cold winters, even at five.

That night I decided to sleep in the park. Parks weren't always the ideal place to sleep, but this one had a pretty good tunnel that kids usually played in, but at night it would be the perfect place to sleep where no one would be able to find me. I had learned a long time ago that places you sleep in had to double as a hiding place.

Well, that night, just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a noise. It wasn't the usual sort of nighttime noise, but a scuffling, like someone was struggling. I'd heard fights before, but I had always tried to avoid them, which is why I always slept in parks. Most thugs had at least enough dignity to avoid a place where children play.

I watched through the holes of the tunnel, wondering if it was safe enough to run away and find some other place to sleep. I wasn't above sleeping in garbage containers, especially because I knew the next day wasn't a trash day. I always tried _not _to sleep in any if I could, but if it meant staying away from gang violence, I would sleep there.

There were about four men surrounding one smaller man. He must have been in his late teens, maybe eighteen. He sounded pretty desperate. I knew desperation, after all. I knew how a person's voice usually got higher, the more desperate they are, how they start to say things more quickly, and how what they say seems to make less sense.

This boy sounded very desperate indeed. They people surrounding him weren't doing much to him yet, which seemed odd to me at the time. I didn't understand why they weren't interrogating him. They were speaking in low voices, so I couldn't hear much except for the boy's cries and the occasional 'shut up!'

Now, at that time my powers were very unpredictable, and I knew there was a good chance that a.) my powers would end up doing more harm than good if I tried to help that boy, and b.) my powers might not even do anything. If either of those things happened I would probably be in as much of a bad position as the boy. There was also the other problem that I was still very scared of people in general, and I was worried that if I did manage to save the boy he would turn on my afterwards.

Still, at that point I was very used to gang on gang violence, but I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The two men behind the boy grabbed on to the boy's shoulders and arms, and forced the boy into a kneeling position. From there I couldn't see much because their backs were to me, but I could tell _something_ bad was happening because the boy had gotten louder, and the older men's voices had gotten louder. I could even see the boy's silhouette struggling.

Then, there was a very loud noise, and the boy was silent. The men had parted a little, so I could see what happened to the boy. He was lying, crumpled on the ground. If it weren't for the fact that the boy had a large part of his forehead was missing, replaced with red, which was spreading around his head very quickly in the form of a puddle.

At that time, I knew exactly what death was. I'd had my own close calls after all, and I knew the boy's case wasn't a close call.

I screamed, scrambling out of the tunnel. The men had turned to look at me run, but apparently they didn't find me threatening enough to chase. I ran down the main street, it was only about ten, so some of the shops were still open. I ran groups of people, all who looked at me like I was an inconvenience.

I saw a store that didn't have anyone in it. It was an old bookstore, a good place to hide in. It was one of those thrift type bookstores, where books lie on the floors and make stacks so tall they touch the ceiling. I sprinted into the store, the bell jingled, but I ran down one of the aisles, stopping in the middle of one. I was breathing really heavily, so it wasn't a wonder that I was found fairly quickly.

A woman appeared at the end of the aisle. She was kind of chubby, not huge, but also not small. She had a baby balanced on her hip, about two at the time. I was still really scared – scared of what happened, and I was still pretty scared of people too. I instantly started backing away from her, even though once I took my first step backwards the woman had stopped walking towards me.

I felt the tears on my cheeks, but when my back hit the wall, I was even more terrified. I accidentally caused the books to my right to come tumbling down. Scared, I turned down a different aisle, but found the woman was already there, but this time she was sitting on the ground a few feet from me. I stopped, staring at the woman.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the woman said. I looked at her doubtfully, but I didn't move. I was more curious as to why she hadn't kicked me out yet. Apparently it was bad for business to have a kid who looked like I did in your store. But she didn't.

I wiped away the tears, still standing quite defensively, "That's what everyone says."

"I'm telling the truth," the woman had replied. "What has you all upset? And why are you up so late?"

"I…" my voice faltered. I was going to tell the woman about what happened in the park, but I didn't think that was a great idea. "I was trying to sleep, but I heard fighting, so I ran away," not a complete lie, but also not the truth.

"Were your mommy and daddy fighting?" The woman asked.

I shook my head, "I don't live with them," I tell her, still not wanting to tell her the complete truth.

"Then who was fighting," she asked, seeming very sad.

"I don't know," I told her honestly, For some reason it seemed very wrong to lie to this woman.

She eventually got me to tell the truth, and even managed to hug me. She convinced me to stay with her, to live with her. After a week she recognized my issue. But to my surprise, she understood. She didn't shriek or scream when my hands set ablaze when I got angry or upset. She seemed to know how to deal with me. I didn't realize it then, but she must have had powers of her own. In her house she had herbs and books that looked different than the ones she sold. If I were to guess, I'd say she was a witch. I don't know what she did, but she managed to help me control my powers – more or less. She helped me hide them, and helped me to be able to use them correctly. I lived with her for five years. I wouldn't consider her to be a mother figure, more like an aunt. A very caring aunt. And right now, I could use auntie Jenny. If anyone would know how to help me with my powers, it would be her. She always had a way of talking to people.

I still remember the day I left. She had been dating a man for a few weeks, and she had just introduced him to us, us being me and her son. And… well, men still scared me at that point. Still do, sort of.

I was ten, and the night I left, I left her a note. I told her not to worry about me. I told her I had burdened her enough when she moved to California. I told her that it was very nice staying with her, but I couldn't impose any longer. I told her that I was very happy for her, and I hoped she liked her family with her new boyfriend, and to not look for me, because I would use everything she taught me to not be found.

She was always a very free spirit. We had pets, but we never kept them in the house, we let them come and go as they pleased. I guess she thought of me in that way too. That I would come back when I wanted to.

I feel bad that I am only going back because I need something from her, but I don't think she will mind. I used my computer to quickly search her store, I am relieved to find that it is still in the same place. It is probably an hour and a half flight from the house. I quickly deleted my search history so Pepper and Dad can't find me. I turn off all of the equipment in my helmet, except for the HUD, and finally, I remove my Stark phone from my pocket, and place it on my bed side table. I know that Jarvis will alert both Dad and Pepper the moment I leave. I take a piece of notebook paper, and write my goodbye.

**Oooh the ever hated cliffhanger. **

**So we had some switching of point of view, and some background on Luna. I felt it was important that you all learned a little of Luna's back story and such. We may be getting some more of that, depending on how everyone feels about it. I also thought I would add in some pepperony because I haven't gotten to do much of that, and because I wanted to. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be very welcome to it. I'm sorry for the talk of suicide, I just felt it was appropriate for Luna to feel that way. If anyone thinks I should make the rating higher because of it, please let me know. This story was never meant to be light. I think from the first book we knew that. **

**Please leave all questions, comments, concerns, criticisms and anything else in the reviews. I love reading reviews, so if you feel I deserve one, leave me one! They really help keep me motivated, and they might help me bear going through midterms.**


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